The Evolution of “Culture” in Anthropology: A Historical Perspective
The Origins of the Term “Culture”
The modern understanding of “culture” stems from the Latin word brew. This linguistic connection is relatively recent, as the word originally signified the act of farming. The metaphorical application of the term, such as “cultivating the spirit,” eventually superseded the initial agricultural meaning.
Our “Dictionary of Authorities” (1727) defined “culture” as “the care and implementation to improve,” “teaching for a young man’s understanding,” or “care taken to cultivate reason, customs, science, and arts.” This metaphorical usage ultimately overshadowed the original definition.
Paradoxically, the concept of “nature” emerged from Rousseau onwards as the primary antagonist of “culture.” This opposition became a cornerstone in shaping the concept of culture.
Over three centuries, “culture” evolved into a fertile concept across numerous disciplines, a cornerstone of their methodologies, and a unifying theme across diverse fields. It became the word that best encapsulated the significant social and intellectual advancements of the 19th century and beyond. This is evident in the continuous proliferation of related terms and expressions in contemporary language, such as “mass culture,” “traditional culture,” “modern culture,” and “cultural heritage.”
The Enlightenment and the Birth of “Culture” as a Concept
This significant shift from word to concept occurred within the context of the Enlightenment, a period of intellectual optimism and innovation. While opinions differ on the precise moment of the concept’s emergence, its roots lie within the Enlightenment’s focus on a new realm of theoretical reflection.
It was during this era that the human mind recognized culture as the defining characteristic of human social existence. This realization highlighted the ability to transmit “social heritage” to future generations. The previously vague notion of culture gained clarity and universality.
A Synthesis of Anthropological Thought on Culture
Evolutionary Anthropology
In the field of anthropology, Edward Burnett Tylor, a proponent of evolutionary anthropology, provided the first formal definition of culture in 1871: “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.” This evolutionary school of thought reflected a cumulative and universalist perspective, asserting that societies didn’t possess distinct cultures but rather participated to varying degrees in a universal culture.
Historical Particularism
In contrast, Franz Boas, a pioneer of historical particularism, defined “culture” as “the distinct set of customs, beliefs, and social institutions that seem to characterize every society in isolation.”
Structuralism and Functionalism
Later, Bronislaw Malinowski and A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, proponents of structuralism and functionalism, viewed culture as “the study of the role that each trait and cultural complex play within the social system, and the relationships between functions and the general laws that explain how.”
Structuralist Anthropology
Claude Lévi-Strauss, a prominent structuralist, explored “the unconscious level of culture and the analogy between culture and language.” He sought to uncover the mental structures underlying human behavior and their biological connections. His primary focus was on the historical differences in the styles of heterogeneous cultures and societies. He viewed cultures as “small traces of humanity that express a way of being certain of a community, people, or nation, carriers of content and cultural values that are recognized and legally protected / collective notion or ethnic /”.
Culture and Personality
Finally, Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, proponents of the culture and personality school, investigated the shared personality traits among members of a specific society. They also examined the influence of early childhood experiences and societal norms, bridging anthropology and psychology.
Conclusions
According to anthropological thought, culture is inherited memory, not genetic, generated by the social aggregates in which we live. Culture is the most ingenious human phenomenon, allowing us to retain the acquisitions of the past and shape successive generations, completing the process of humanization. As a social fact and heritage, culture is formed through accumulation and selection processes involving more than one person and transmitted through external social mechanisms.
There are two fundamental approaches to understanding culture:
- The evolutionist approach, championed by Tylor, views culture as a continuous cumulative process.
- The historical particularist approach, advocated by Boas, emphasizes cultures as living entities that express the specific ways of being of human communities.
The concept of culture encompasses a vast field, as evidenced by:
- Tylor’s broad definition
- Goodenough’s description of cultural features
- White’s open list
The latter two emphasize the ideational or mental character of culture, excluding material aspects. Another crucial element of the concept of culture is values. These values, alongside intellectual knowledge, involve evolutionary elements of rejection or attraction, possess an evolutionary dimension, and entail preferences. According to Malinowski, values are linked to human needs and are shaped by experience and learning.